Ofcom have published their long awaited changes to Second Class letter deliveries. Up until now under the Universal Service Obligation, Royal Mail has been required under the universal service obligation to deliver 1st and 2nd Class letters six days a week. Ofcom will now allow Royal Mail to deliver 2nd Class letters on alternate weekdays.
Changes to Universal Service Obligation Delivery Targets
- Royal Mail to deliver 2nd Class letters on alternate weekdays – still within three working days of collection
- No more 2nd Class deliveries on Saturdays
- Target for 1st Class mail reduced from 93% to 90% delivered next-day
- 99% to be delivered within three working days
- Target for 2nd Class mail reduced from 98.5% to 95% delivered within three days
- 99% to be delivered within five working days
- New enforceable backstop targets so that 99% of mail has to be delivered no more than two days late
Delivering 2nd Class post on alternate weekdays will likely mean that one week in rotation you should likely expect your post on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The following week you should expect your post on a Tuesday and Thursday.
Universal Service Obligation Backstop Target
The most important part of these changes is the new backstop targets where no mail is delivered more than two days late. The biggest issue that people have with their mail is not that it arrives a day late, it’s that often it takes a week (sometimes weeks) to arrive. Ofcom want to address this issue so we’ll be watching with interest to see how strictly they enforce the backstop targets.
Stamp Prices
Honestly stamp prices are a joke, a 1st Class stamp (£1.70) is almost double the cost of 2nd Class (£0.87), and now it may not even be delivered for three days… although lately if it arrived within three days we celebrated due to the poor service we’ve come to expect. There’s been very little point shelling out for 1st Class and that is likely to remain the case.
Ofcom agree and so have also launched a review of pricing and affordability, which will consider concerns that many people and organisations have raised about stamp prices. They plan to consult on this next year, so don’t expect any change soon.
These changes are in the best interests of consumers and businesses, as urgent reform of the postal service is necessary to give it the best chance of survival.
But changing Royal Mail’s obligations alone won’t guarantee a better service – the company now has to play its part and implement this effectively. We’ll be making sure Royal Mail is clear with its customers about what’s happening, and passes the benefits of these changes on to them.
As part of this process, we’ve been listening to concerns about increases in stamp prices. So we’ve launched a review of affordability and plan to publicly consult on this next year.
– Natalie Black, Group Director for Networks and Communications, Ofcom
We welcome today’s announcement from Ofcom. It is good news for customers across the UK as it supports the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable Universal Service.
It follows extensive consultation with thousands of people and businesses to ensure that the postal service better reflects their needs and the realities of how customers send and receive mail today.
– Martin Seidenberg, Group Chief Executive Officer, International Distribution Services
2 Responses
How will this work? If they have first and second class mail to deliver to me on say Tuesday (Which happens to be a no 2nd class postal day) are they going to leave the second class post at the sorting office and deliver that the next day (When there may not be any 1st class to deliver!)
Exactly that!